Song of the Day

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November 23, 2021

Akina Adderley: “Home Before Dark”

By: Jack Anderson

The term “songstress” is a relatively outdated one, but if there’s anyone here in Austin that fits the description, it’s absolutely Akina Adderley. In addition to her work providing vocals for the world-jazz group NORI and as one third of retro-girl-pop project Charlie Faye & The Fayettes, Adderley’s long maintained a reputation as a must-hear powerhouse performer, be it on her own or with her eponymous trio.

Akina Adderley plays with NORI on December 11th at Central Market North Lamar and with The Akina Adderley Trio on December 29th at Geraldine’s, but the big news comes in the form of a standalone single. Touting a gospel-blues-adjacent waltz of a groove and lyrics that look at our collective path as a nation, “Home Before Dark” will keep you in bright spirits even in these wintry early nights.


Episodes

May 2, 2024

Mikky & The Doom: “Garbage, USA”

In most situations, if you got it, flaunt it. But in an industry that demands infinitely more from your ears than from your eyes, if the hottest person on the planet doesn’t have the pipes to match their looks, they probably don’t have a shot at succeeding as a singer. So let’s talk newcomer Mikky […]

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Henry the Archer: “ViolinT”

If this late Spring’s got your spirits shook up and you’re looking for some renewed motivation to tend to your garden (be it literal or figurative), we’ve got a DFW act that’ll make you go hard in the yard. And that’s on behalf of singer-guitarist-keyboardist R. Hennessy, AKA “Henry O”, who’s been hitting the mark […]

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Emily Shirley: “Morning Light”

It’s the classic end to an encounter. You meet someone new. Sparks seemingly fly. You have fun for a night. But when you wake up ready to tell your new boo you’d like to see ’em again…they’re long gone. Hell, and in the modern era, that might all happen on just on an app alone. […]

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April 30, 2024

Grandmaster: “Castle Door”

Watch out, Golden Dawn Arkestra…there’s a new costumed collective in town, and they’re hunting for for fresh converts! But instead of frenetic Afro-inspired dance grooves, these fanatics have so far stuck to the slower side of ’70s-style jazz funk rock; think War whisked together with Steely Dan. Not that you’d be able to tell from […]

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April 29, 2024

Trip Cigs: “Comeback Kid”

When a seasoned musician wades out of their genre comfort zone, you love to hear it. Because the technical expertise, jam stamina, and songwriting skills are already in place, but opening the gate to different inspirations and influences is always a welcome breath of fresh air. So let’s talk Rod Gator, who – as you […]

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April 24, 2024

Viben: “Pablo Picasso”

Lyrics are a fickle field. You can be wordy as hell, hoping that at least one line sticks in listener’s minds. Or, you could just loop the hell out of some barebones sentences – guaranteed to have a lot more hypnotic staying power through sheer repetition, especially in the realm of dance music. Now let’s […]

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April 24, 2024

Rett Smith: “Sunsets”

In terms of musical association, at least outside the world of film soundtracks, U.S. southwestern scenery often gets associated with country. But there’s a certain psychedelic quality to our regional deserts that we just love to see artists embrace. Folks like Rett Smith, based here in Austin, but bred out of West Texas, so you […]

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April 23, 2024

Ruel Thomas: “I Am Today”

Any profession requires quotas…whether that’s how many tickets you write or how many kids pass your class. And when music is your source of income, the obvious metric to measure by is quantity of shows played. But as with any creative endeavor, there’s an opportunity to move the needle in many directions, which makes “success” […]

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